# Clout: external reach

Members within a community have _reach_ by facilitating connection, gathering, and trust among other members. But what about outside the community?

Well-connected members outside of the community who drive events, and gatherings and serve as a connector can bring widespread awareness and credibility to the community. This in turn will help attract new members. We call this kind of reach _clout_.

### Why clout?

The word clout is often used to describe someone's influence or pull within a group of people.

This concept of clout lout has entered the internet zeitgeist, partly due to a previous existing startup known as [Klout](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klout). Klout worked to quantify an individual's general reputation and influence on the internet. Taking into account signals from Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and other online platforms, an individual could receive a Klout Score. This Klout score was a previous attempt of quantifying one’s reach and influence online.

While Klout aimed to solve how we as individuals influence our online worlds, we’re thinking of clout a little differently within the context of online communities. We want to know the reach and engagement of an individual outside of a community, in order to determine what individuals can have significant impacts on the community itself. We use the word clout because it's short and easier to say than _external reach_.

## Measuring clout

Clout is a measurement that has a lot of context given to it. There may not be a single ‘best’ way to measure clout, but there does exist a ‘best way to measure it’ within a specific community.

Depending on the community you’re working with: here are a few signals that may be useful.

- Social media followers on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.
- Portfolio presence on GitHub, Dribble, Flickr, Unsplash, etc.
- Reputation on StackOverflow, Quora, Reddit, HackerNews, or forums
- Leadership roles in other communities
- Job title and company size or reputation
- Amount spent on trips to space

There are many possibilities for determining what clout is important to the community you’re working with. We recommend paying attention to the one or two signals that are the most relevant for the community you’re working with.

### Clout in practice

#### Trade Association

**Relevant signals**

- Job title and organization of your members
- Other professional organizations they belong do

**Less relevant signals**

- Runs a non-industry related meme account

#### Beauty Community

**Relevant signals**

- Runs a beauty YouTube Channel
- Active in [r/makeupaddiction](reddit.com/r/makeupaddiction)

**Less relevant signals**

- Their cat’s Instagram account following

## Clout in action

Understanding a member’s clout can help you build better relationships and stronger communities. Let’s explore a few examples.

### Attracting members to new communities

A new community generally needs to grow, and attracting some high clout members
can help attract others. Of course, it's very important that they be the right
member. Those with consistently strong clout within a community space, once activated inside the community you’re working with, you’ll open yourself up to attracting new members who are likely to add to the community's gravity.

### High-visibility opportunities

High-clout members make good headliners and keynote speakers. They can help draw a
large crowd that will generate excitement for both current and future members.

### Amplifying messages

Members with high clout thanks to a large social media following can help you
get the word out publicly about community events, programs, and milestones.
